Vitamin D Deficiency Can Lead To Complicated Autoimmune Diseases

Fall has arrived colors are changing, and temperatures are dropping. In some places, these changes signal that it is time to brace yourself for winter. During winter the sun’s angle is too low to produce vitamin D in the skin, and this affects our levels of this essential nutrient and can lead to a vitamin D deficiency. This has been given the nickname “vitamin D winter”.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that has been established to help the body absorb calcium to promote strong bones, it helps to strengthen the immune system, plays an important role in cardiovascular health, helps to build and maintain muscle mass, helps to regulate blood pressure by helping the kidneys manage salt, plays roles in brain and cognitive function, and promotes health hair growth among other roles. 

More recent research published in Science Advances has discovered another important role of vitamin D, in which it helps to regulate the immune system. As children develop the thymus helps to train immune cells to distinguish between body tissues and invaders. This new research suggests that a vitamin D deficiency during this crucial stage of life causes the thymus to age more quickly, finding a vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with a higher risk of autoimmune diseases.

Impacts Of Vitamin D Deficiency

“An aging thymus leads to a ‘leaky’ immune system,” said lead author John White, a Professor in and Chair of McGill’s Department of Physiology. “This means the thymus becomes less effective at filtering out immune cells that could mistakenly attack healthy tissues, increasing the risk of autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes.”

“Our findings bring new clarity to this connection and could lead to new strategies for preventing autoimmune diseases,” said White.

“In places like Montreal, where we stop making the vitamin from sunlight between late fall and early spring, supplementation is key,” said White. “If you have a young child, it’s important to consult with your healthcare provider to ensure they’re getting enough.”

This breakthrough study builds on previous research following over 10,000 Finnish children, finding that those given dietary supplements early in life containing vitamin D to avoid developing a vitamin D deficiency had a five-fold decrease in the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes later in life. Finland has a long period of “vitamin D winter” thus serving as an ideal case study to learn more about the roles that vitamin D may play.

The researchers noted that although this study was conducted with mice, the findings are still relevant as the thymus functions similarly in both species. For this study, the mice were not able to produce vitamin D to investigate how the thymus was affected by a vitamin D deficiency, using cell analysis and gene sequencing to examine the impacts on the immune system. 

Moving forward White hopes to further explore how vitamin D impacts the thymus and hopes to conduct future studies involving the human thymus which was noted to have never been done before. 

Tips

Even though it’s harder to get vitamin D from the sun in the winter, you can still try to get outside for 20 minutes a few times a week to help mitigate the seasonal drop in vitamin D levels. To make sure that you are getting enough vitamin D and avoid developing a vitamin D deficiency during the upcoming long winter months, food sources such as fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines, as well as cod liver oil, beef liver, egg yolks, and some types of mushrooms, are all good sources of vitamin D. 

As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

 

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